Pennsylvania Dental Hygienist license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Pennsylvania dental hygienists must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry, Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. Dental hygienist licenses expire March 31 of every odd numbered year and are renewable for a two year period beginning April 1 of each odd numbered year, the same schedule dentists follow. The current biennium runs April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2027. Renewal notices go out about 60 days before expiration. Maintaining current infant, child and adult CPR certification and completing the continuing education in Subchapter F are both conditions of renewal. Pennsylvania also mandates specific subjects. Child abuse recognition and reporting: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Administration of local anesthesia, including pharmacology or other related courses: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle (dental hygienists who hold a local anesthesia permit). Public health related courses: 5 contact hours every renewal cycle (public health dental hygiene practitioners). No more than 10 contact hours may be self-study or online and the first renewal is exempt.

Pennsylvania Dental Hygienist renewal and continuing education rules

"Not stated" means the board's pages and rules we read do not address it. We do not fill in typical values.

A dental hygienist owes 20 hours per biennium. That figure was read as a hygienist figure in 49 Pa. Code 33.401(a)(2), which lists dentists at 30 hours, dental hygienists at 20 and expanded function dental assistants at 10 in separate paragraphs. At least 50 percent of the required hours must be lecture or clinical presentations and no more than 50 percent may come from individual study, instructing or authoring, which works out to a 10 hour floor and a 10 hour ceiling for a hygienist. CPR certification is a condition of renewal under 49 Pa. Code 33.105, but 33.402(a)(3) excludes hours required for CPR certification from the acceptable subject areas, so CPR does not count toward the 20. A dental hygienist may count no more than three of the 20 hours in communication skills, a hygienist specific allowance that has no dentist equivalent. A school dental hygienist certified as a public health dental hygiene practitioner may submit education courses approved for certification by the school district to meet the 20 hours.

Required CE topics for Pennsylvania dental hygienists

State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.

Documentation and audit

Common questions

How many CE hours does a Pennsylvania RDH need to renew?

Pennsylvania dental hygienists must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry, Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. A dental hygienist owes 20 hours per biennium. That figure was read as a hygienist figure in 49 Pa. Code 33.401(a)(2), which lists dentists at 30 hours, dental hygienists at 20 and expanded function dental assistants at 10 in separate paragraphs. At least 50 percent of the required hours must be lecture or clinical presentations and no more than 50 percent may come from individual study, instructing or authoring, which works out to a 10 hour floor and a 10 hour ceiling for a hygienist. CPR certification is a condition of renewal under 49 Pa. Code 33.105, but 33.402(a)(3) excludes hours required for CPR certification from the acceptable subject areas, so CPR does not count toward the 20. A dental hygienist may count no more than three of the 20 hours in communication skills, a hygienist specific allowance that has no dentist equivalent. A school dental hygienist certified as a public health dental hygiene practitioner may submit education courses approved for certification by the school district to meet the 20 hours.

How often does a Pennsylvania RDH license need to be renewed?

Dental Hygienist licenses in Pennsylvania renew every two years. Dental hygienist licenses expire March 31 of every odd numbered year and are renewable for a two year period beginning April 1 of each odd numbered year, the same schedule dentists follow. The current biennium runs April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2027. Renewal notices go out about 60 days before expiration. Maintaining current infant, child and adult CPR certification and completing the continuing education in Subchapter F are both conditions of renewal.

What specific CE topics are required for Pennsylvania dental hygienists?

Child abuse recognition and reporting: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Administration of local anesthesia, including pharmacology or other related courses: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle (dental hygienists who hold a local anesthesia permit). Public health related courses: 5 contact hours every renewal cycle (public health dental hygiene practitioners). Citations: child abuse recognition and reporting (49 Pa. Code 33.401(h); 49 Pa. Code 33.256), administration of local anesthesia, including pharmacology or other related courses (49 Pa. Code 33.402(f)), and public health related courses (49 Pa. Code 33.402(d)).

Do Pennsylvania dental hygienists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 4 years. Hours must be taken in the subject areas listed in 49 Pa. Code 33.402 from a program sponsor listed in 49 Pa. Code 33.403. Child abuse courses must be approved by the Department of Human Services and the provider reports completion electronically to the Bureau. At renewal the applicant provides the requested information about the required hours on the biennial renewal application and submits documentation when the Board asks for it. The applicant is responsible for keeping documentation for four years after completing the program.

Is the first Pennsylvania RDH renewal exempt from CE?

Yes. Pennsylvania does not require continuing education for a RDH's first renewal.

Sources

Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• 49 Pa. Code 33.401, Credit-hour requirementsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• 49 Pa. Code 33.402, Continuing education subject areasStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• 49 Pa. Code 33.404, Reporting continuing education credit hoursStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• 49 Pa. Code 33.105, Biennial renewal of licenses and certificatesStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Dental Hygienist Licensure Snapshot, Pennsylvania Department of StateState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
• State Board of Dentistry Renewal Information, Pennsylvania Department of StateState board page, accessed September 8, 2026

The 20 hour hygienist total and the 2 hour child abuse requirement were confirmed twice from hygienist specific sources: 49 Pa. Code 33.401(a)(2) and (h) in the official Pennsylvania Code, and the Department of State dental hygienist licensure snapshot, which states 20 hours for biennial renewal with 2 of those hours in child abuse recognition and reporting. Neither figure was scaled from the dentist record. The hygienist only allowances and mandates, three hours maximum in communication skills, three of the 20 hours in local anesthesia for permit holders, five of the 20 in public health for public health dental hygiene practitioners, and the school dental hygienist substitution, were read in 33.402(c) through (f). CPR is a renewal condition under 33.105 but is excluded from countable subject areas by 33.402(a)(3). Chapter 33 states no carryover provision, so that field is null. The Board's renewal guide is a PDF and was not opened.